Sword of Laban

Hello Dear Readers,
I am going to throw a question out to y'all and let you discuss:

What was the ultimate fate of the Sword of Laban? Did Moroni bury it with the Gold Plates in Cumorah? Were they in the stone box when Joseph Smith recovered the plates? We read in the BofM that it was passed down from king to king, along with the Liahona and other relics:

 16 And moreover, he also gave him charge concerning the records which were engraven on the ^aplates of brass; and also the plates of Nephi; and also, the ^bsword of Laban, and the ^cball or director, which led our fathers through the wilderness, which was prepared by the hand of the Lord that thereby they might be led, every one according to the heed and diligence which they gave unto him. (Mosiah chapter 1)

 Let me note that Moroni never records what he buried in the Hill Cumorah with the plates because he never actually relates burying them because he was busy writing on them. In the PoGP, Joseph Smith relates:

52 Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the ^aplates, the ^bUrimand Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them.

 He never specifically mentions it was there, but at the same time, he never mentions that it wasn't. My wife and I read that this evening (well, from the abridged version in the intro to the BofM) so I asked her if the sword was in the box. When she realized that JS never mentions it, she began to wonder where that idea came from. With a little investigation I discovered D&C 17:

1 BEHOLD, I say unto you, that you must rely upon my word, which if you do with full purpose of heart, you shall have a ^aview of the ^bplates, and also of the ^cbreastplate, the ^dsword of Laban, the^eUrim and Thummim, which were given to the ^fbrother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord ^gface to face, and the ^hmiraculous directors which were given to Lehi while in the wilderness, on the borders of the ⁱRed Sea.

 So, we know that the three witnesses were promised to see the Sword of Laban along with the plates, Urim and Thummin, etc. We also know that JS gave the plates back to the angel Moroni so that the Angel could reveal it to them (see The Testimony of Three Witnesses).
So, was the Sword in the box with the plates or was it not? discuss.

Jumped the Gun

Some may have briefly seen a post titled "Further Light and Knowledge". It has temporarily been taken down as I was directed to new source material after it had been published, (hat tip Allen). Once I have had the chance to examine the new material, I will edit the post and re-publish it. Thank you for your patience as I work out the bugs of this blog.

Marvel Vs. DC

Marvel and DC are the two biggest mainstream comic book companies in the United States.

DC is famous for heroes like Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, um... Robin?... OK, so that's all I got for DC.

Marvel is famous for heroes like the entire X-men Team, Iron Man (Red Robot, as Jaron calls him), The Incredible Hulk, Spiderman, The Fantastic Four, DareDevil, and the list goes on and on.

I was thinking about it today and I realized they have some fundamental differences and yet one very noticeable similarity: Iron Man and Batman. They were both child prodigies born to bazillionaire families, both have no actual super power (therefore, completely self made heroes) both use a ton of cool gadgets, that they invented themselves(!), both have special armour (granted, Iron Man armor is a little more all inclusive than Batman armor). Now, I'm not going to discount the differences. Batman is motivated by revenge while, (if the movie portrayal is accurate to the comic book) Iron Man is basically just a spoiled rich kid out for a good time (although there is the whole "my company has been selling my weapons to the bad guys, I have to atone for this", but he is still out there thinking "I'm flying around in a metal suit I made and that's friggin' awesome!")

Of the two of them, I think I definitely prefer Batman over Iron Man. Don't get me wrong, I think Iron Man is awesome, perhaps it is just because I have more exposure to Batman. The dichotomy is, however, I definitely prefer Marvel over DC any day of the week. I was never of fan of Superman (c'mon, he's an alien with super strength, laser vison, xray vision, can fly, etc. etc. etc. and the only way to kill him is with a space rock). Marvel heroes are all normal people that have had their powers thrust upon them (for the most part) by accident, usually involving radiation. The X-men, obviously, is caused by a genetic mutation, but they are still just trying to cope with the burden they've been given. Another big difference, when you think of superheroes with capes, you think of the DC camp: Superman, Batman,...um...does Green Lantern wear a cape? But I can't think of any Marvel hero that wears a cape. And, as Edna Mode pointed out to Bob Parr on Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles, capes are a bad idea, they get caught in jet engines, snagged on missiles, caught in elevators, etc.




So what do you think: If Iron Man and Batman were to get in a brawl, who would win? Why? My money is on Batman. Also, which is better, the Marvel Universe or the DC Universe? Discuss.

Nephite Pride Cycle

The following was the result of a conversation my wife and I had while making the 2hr drive home after visiting family in Sacramento. It was originally posted on my personal blog, but since I've chosen to dedicate this blog for writings of a religious matter, I have decided to re-post it here:

In innumerable places within the Book of Mormon, the Lord promises the prophet at the time "inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land, but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence." (cf. 2Ne. 1:20) That promise isn't exclusive of the Nephites or even of antiquity. The Book of Mormon, remember, was written for OURday.

Additionally, the term "Nephite Pride Cycle" is a misnomer. There is nothing uniquely Nephite about it. What it should be called is "The Curse of the Promised Land". Just as it says in the Book of Mormon:

11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things(emphasis added). If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
15 And to bring about his eternal purpose in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter.

Any time a people is given the blessing of receiving a promised land, the curse that follows inevitably with is is the pride cycle. You are given a land just for you, you get prideful about it, you get slothful, you get destroyed, you repent, it starts all over. The Nephites weren't the only ones that this happened to. It happened to the Jaredites thousands of years before Lehi. It may have even happened to the Mulekites, although they kept no records so we're not really sure. It happened to the Israelites when they were given their Promised Land. The author of the Proverbs said it succinctly:

18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

And we would all be very naive if we thought that we, as citizens of the United States, are immune from this curse. Nephi saw our day and received a revelation of the colonizing and founding of this country. Could we not then say that we were given this as a promised land?

12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.

13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.

14 And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.

15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.

16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.

We have become prideful and slothful and are letting the central government take more and more power away from the citizenry. And what has the government been doing with this power? sowing the seeds of destruction: spending money it doesn't have, bowing down to dictators, refusing to admit that we have enemies, shirking its responsibility to be a force to be reckoned with on the global stage. The list goes on and on. Let me know what you think. Am I right? Am I off base? Let me know

It's Been A While Update

Things have been crazy around here. Dave graduated on Saturday (which he posted on his blog here). We had a little luncheon afterwards for Dave's family. It was nice to have everyone, who could come, over to see our new place and hang out. Jaron and Lara had a lot of fun playing with their cousins and Uncle Alex.
Jaron turned 3 in March. Crazy! He is 40 inches tall and 38lbs. He's 90th percent on weight and 96th percent on height. We knew he was a tall boy!
Our "little" Lara is now 18 months and started Nursery. She loves it! Especially since Daddy and Jaron are in there with her. I feel lonely when I'm at church now with no baby around...never thought that would happen! Lara had her 18 month check up today. She is now 34 inches tall and 24lbs 10oz. She is back up to the 95th percentile on height and 50 percent for weight.
I need to get updated pictures for both of them to post. We have been so busy that it just did not get done. Maybe this next week =)
Dave is on the wait list for USN. Life in limbo! We know what is best for us will be what will happen. We just wish we could find out sooner rather than later.
I have a new doctor. She had me do a CT scan on Monday. I'm not really worried about it, it was more for ruling out than anything else. I have to do all my blood work again, and she is having some additional blood tests done that the other doctor did not do. Hopefully I'm on the right track to feeling better and being able to start getting myself in shape.
Well, that's about all I have time for right now. We are doing well in general. I'm glad to have Dave home for the summer and hope we will be able to enjoy it to the max!

Mormon Doctrine

According to the blog Mormon Matters, it has recently been announced that Bruce R. McConkie's Mormon Doctrine "will no longer be published by the Church, and it will not be sold by Deseret Book." Many members rely on this work and believe it to be the official doctrine as taught by the church. I would venture a guess that there might even be members who refer to it more frequently than the standard works themselves. I have chosen to discuss this topic as my first bloggernacle post and clarify some things as I understand them. As I currently don't own a copy of the book, although I would love to and have referenced it many times, I can't say definitively, but I doubt the church was the publisher of it. More likely, Deseret Book was the publisher and distributor. (Deseret Book, some may not realize, is not the official publisher for the church. That honor belongs to Intellectual Reserve, Inc.) 


Only items printed and published by IRI is considered official doctrine of the church. And they will either have the church's logo on the back or say printed by the church on the first few pages. IRI will definitely be the copyright holder of the work. The church never officially accepted it. In fact, as the story goes, the first edition was written and published without the church's knowledge or sanctioning and when reviewed by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, he was asked to make several changes, which he did and can be found in the second edition and subsequent printings. It is important to understand that, although he was later called to be an Apostle, he had strong opinions about doctrinal matters and Mormon Doctrine must be taken as such. It is an exposition into what he felt was true, regardless as to whether the church officially accepted those views or not. Some feel it is also important to remember that he was only a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy at the time he wrote it and not even an apostle.


Don't get me wrong, he was a very spiritual man and was later called to the Apostleship. I firmly believe that Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when He called Elder McConkie. I love hearing tapes of his conference talks. In his final testimony he says:

And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God—I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person. I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears. But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way.

 I have no doubt that he had seen our Savior and stood as a witness of Him.

Graduation Day

Yesterday was commencement exercises for CSU Chico. I have finally graduated and now hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor emphasis in Spanish. Here are a few photos of the event and a video. I hope you enjoy:

This is before the commencement exercises

Can you see how excited they are for me?

Walking into the Stadium

She was exhausted, we had to wake her up to get there on time. Apparently, she put the blanket over her head and put herself to sleep.

After the exercises.

In front of the main sign on campus.

Everybody in front of the main sign on campus.